Romantic/Valentine's Day dinner for a crowd?

[RoastedChicken]

Does anyone have suggestions for a good valentine's day menu that can be scaled for a crowd of 10-15 (all women)?

I have lots of ideas for desserts, but I'm not sure what appetizers/main courses would be suitable for Valentine's day

[betsydiver]

i once made a nice cobb salad with poached chicken, hard boiled eggs, bacon, avacado slices,etc. served with bakery croissants and a citrus cup to a few gal friends, with good success. another member of our group served s wonderful cheese souffle with steamed asparagus and bellinnins. delicious!

[othervoice]

I'm not sure how you have a "Romantic" dinner for 10-15 women, but I'd love to join and see.
My menu would go with the simple:
Shrimp Scampi over fettuccine with a Fresh Spinach Salad with Roasted Walnuts, with a Raspberry Vinaigrette.
For dessert I'd go with something special like Fresh Strawberry's coated in White Chocolate and shots of chilled Amarretto.

[laredo]

Not too late, kate cm. Thanks for the reply! Turned out we didn't eat in last night. :<)

Will try the thyme (which I like better than dill anyway) and white wine.....but I'm still curious as to what characteristics vodka brings to the dish.

Thank you!

[wyogal]

??? I think you replied to the wrong post.
Vodka would act as a flavor enhancer.

[laredo]

I was referring to katecm's suggestion of Capellini with Salmon and Lemon-Dill-Vodka Sauce.

[wyogal]

These "reply" buttons can be confusing sometimes. It helps to reply to the poster that you are referring to. It gets confusing. I've done it before, too.

[laredo]

I didn't know the procedure! Thanks for the help.

[wyogal]

No problem!

[jvanderh]

I like steak on V-day, for some reason. If you go that route, I'd probably sear ahead of time and roast in the oven on the night of to desired temp, or do a beef tenderloin. If that's too expensive, I think stuffed chicken breasts or leq quarters would be nice. If you have a fondue set lying around, that would be good for a crowd. I'd probably be inclined to just do dipping, and have the meat cooked ahead.

[janethepain]

Funny, I was just writing a blog post on romantic, fancy-but-cheap/easy recipes for Valentine's Day. Mostly for two people, but these are likely easy enough and scalable to 10+ people. On it, I had:
- spaghetti carbonara
- risotto
- steamed mussels
- roast chicken
- soups like bisques or stews like cassoulet

If you have a lot of time (and a large Dutch oven), what about stuff like coq au vin or braised short ribs? I'll link when my blog post gets published.
-

[laredo]

A question for katecm regarding the salmon recipe:

Could you substitute another herb for the dill?
and
I am curious as to what taste the vodka brings to the dish. Is there a substitute for it?

Yes, that's two questions. :<) Sorry.

I am asking because I would like to make it tonight, but have no vodka nor any dill in the house.

Thahnks!

[katecm]

Oh no, I hope you're on the west coast so this isn't too late. In terms of substituting the dill, I've used dried if you have it. If not, I bet tarragon would be amazing. Or thyme to make it a bit more wintry? And instead of the vodka, I bet simple dry white wine would still be delicious.

[jaykayen]

Risotto. Lobster risotto?

Shrimp cocktail (mexican style) or fish ceviche.

[katecm]

This salmon and capellini with creamy vodka sauce is lovely and totally girly, plus the salmon is a pretty pink. I've made it enough that I have come up with a few short cuts. I've also made it in sections ahead of time and once made it as a salmon steak on top of each bowl of pasta, rather than mixed in, so that might be a bit more elegant. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[sukisooo]

Maybe a first course of creamy wild mushroom risotto, small portion. Followed by medallions of pork tenderloin with port jus and turnip mash. End with cleansing bright greens with simple citrus vinaigrette, then your dessert choice.

[perk]

I would think elegant might work. Appetizers could be blinis with caviar....or smoked salmon.
Main course of something French....a braised chicken thigh dish. Or a nice fish dish with a lovely sauce.